Chitando, a former managing director and chairman at the Impala Platinum and Sibanye-Stillwater joint venture platinum miner Mimosa, was favourite to be retained at the mines ministry, to which he was first appointed in Nov. 2017.
Mining generates more than half of Zimbabwe’s foreign export earnings and Mnangagwa has said the sector, which is attracting investors in lithium mining, will anchor future economic growth.
Mnangagwa also appointed ZANU-PF national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri as Defence Minister, taking away a key security portfolio from Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, the retired general who led the coup against Mugabe.
Zimbabwean swimming Olympic gold medalist Kirsty Coventry was a surprise pick for the youth and sports ministry in a cabinet that did not include any opposition officials.
Mnangagwa appointed eight new faces to his cabinet but there was no place for long serving ministers Patrick Chinamasa, Obert Mpofu, David Parirenyatwa and Simon Moyo.
“We would want to grow, modernize and mechanize our economy. We believe in the next five years, we will be able to transform our people into middle income citizens,” Mnangagwa told reporters after his chief secretary announced the cabinet list.
Mnangagwa had earlier received support from former President Robert Mugabe who said he now accepted him as Zimbabwe’s legitimate leader after initially accusing him of leading a “disgraceful” de facto coup that ended his near four-decades rule last year.
On the eve of the July 30 vote, Mugabe, 94, said he would vote for the opposition to remove Mnangagwa’s “military government”, expressing bitterness towards his one-time allies in the ruling ZANU-PF party. – The Source
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